Beyond All Our Thoughts (Perichoresis - Divine Indwelling)

Beyond All Our Thoughts (Perichoresis - Divine Indwelling)

John 1:1-5 (NRSV) - The Word Became Flesh

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Beyond our thoughts and words, there lies a mystery, something full of wonder and depth. Consider the opening of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” This profound statement invites us to reflect on how God brought creation into existence and how our lives are interwoven with this divine act.

Genesis 1:1-3 (KJV) - In the Beginning

Before creation, there was a formless void, an emptiness waiting to be filled. Genesis tells us, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Creation emerged From this Void, and with it, the Eternal Word was present, perhaps born from God's single desire and thought.

“In the beginning was the Word.” As we ponder this, whether as Christians or adherents of another faith, we may begin to see how our relationship with creation is rooted in the Word. Our lives arise through relationships—relationships with creation, with each other, and ultimately with the divine.

For Christians, this relationship is centered on Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, the Word made flesh. Yet, words are central to many sacred traditions, binding together the family of humankind. When we dwell on our relationships, even those beyond our immediate circle, we begin to see how these interconnections sustain life.

Can you imagine how your life touches mine, even if we have never met or spoken? Can you fathom how your existence impacts the lives of others and will continue to do so? This is the power of relationships in the world. It is the Word, the Holy Spirit, at work among us. Our thoughts become words, shaping our world, lives, and communities.

We are all interconnected, perhaps more so now as we listen to one another within a sacred community. Words have a life of their own—they shape our existence and connect us in marvelous ways. This is why writers are drawn to writing and why people cherish poetry, good plays, compelling novels, and stories that resonate with their experiences.

At home, we have more than 500 books in our library. Each one represents a relationship, a connection with the words within it, just as I hope the words I am writing now create a connection with you.

In Buddhism, the concept of interconnectedness with all life and reality is called Dependent Origination, or Pratītyasamutpāda in Sanskrit. This principle teaches that everything arises in dependence on multiple causes and conditions. Although Buddhism's language can be symbolic and complex, at its heart, it speaks to a reality of shared interdependence—one that intimately connects us to everything else in life.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a renowned Buddhist monk, calls this interbeing in his book The Heart of Understanding. He teaches that “to be” is to inter-be, for nothing can exist in isolation; everything is part of a larger, interconnected whole.

In Christianity, a remarkably similar concept is found in the Greek word Perichoresis, used by early church fathers and mothers to describe the mystery of the Trinity. Perichoresis refers to the indwelling of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit within one another, so intimately connected that their unity forms a single divine essence. This divine indwelling extends to us through Christ, who invites us into this sacred unity.

How fitting, then, that we cannot imagine life without words. Words are the vessels of our thoughts, how we shape our lives and express our innermost selves.

Let us return, then, to the beginning—to the wordless void, the Buddhist concept of Śūnyatā, or emptiness. This emptiness is not a void of despair but a space of infinite potential from which all reality arises. Imagine it as an empty cup, ready to be filled by you, by God, by the fullness of life itself. This emptiness holds the promise of newness and creation in each moment, just as an empty cup can be filled with new wine or hot jasmine tea.

Sometimes, we must let go of all our words, images, and thoughts, even becoming lost for a while. This emptiness can be a good thing—a necessary thing. In letting go, we open ourselves to new language and new images, like artists creating a symphony, painting, poem, or photograph that leaves us breathless and speechless. I love that feeling of speechlessness, empty and ready to receive the next new thing. The secret is understanding that each moment is the next new thing, full of infinite potential, born out of every preceding moment.

As I reflect on this, I recall the words of a poem I once wrote: “We are the poet, and the poem out of each moment arises.” This truth, born from my thoughts, words, and spiritual life, resonates deeply. It is a truth I hope to share with you—a truth discovered within any sacred community, where we find new meaning, new words, and new life in one another.

These words, arising from a single point of emptiness, help us shape our lives into a new language, a new existence. They enable us to breathe as one body, in one single breath, and in one spirit together. There is something sacramental and spirit-driven in such a dialogue, something that binds us together in an indwelling unity — Perichoresis.

In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” As I think of these words, I reflect on how much your life enriches mine and how we enrich one another. I want us to fully realize, appreciate, and know this truth: that we are all part of the gift of life, a life given by God, and that we should be grateful for the sacramental moments we share, where we come to know and be fully known by God, and where we come to be blessed.

I think the Buddha and Jesus would agree with this, in their own way, through the practice of prayer,  enlightenment, and wakefulness—celebrating life as a journey of interconnectedness and abundant possibilities.

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Many Blessings,

—Ron Starbuck
Saint Julian Press, Inc.
Publisher-CEO
Houston, Texas